Same formula but fresh hope as South Africa gear up for ODIs

As South Africa prepare for their one-day international series against Bangladesh, there is a familiar feeling. They have been here before, back in 2013, and they were here in 2015 as well. It is the point where the disappointment from another big tournament failure is starting to dissolve, and focus shifts to the next one.

"It feels like the start of a new season," David Miller said in Kimberley on Friday (October 13). "There is a new coach, and everyone is buzzing at the moment."

In July 2013, one month after South Africa had tumbled out of the Champions Trophy, there was a new coach but less freshness about the setup as the Proteas embarked on a tour of Sri Lanka. Russell Domingo was the new man at the helm then, but having served as Gary Kirsten's assistant, it hardly felt like a brave new era. South Africa were bowled out for 140 in their first match of the tour.

In 2015 there was no new coach and optimism was hard to find. Not only was the heartache from a World Cup semi-final defeat more acute than usual, but the fallout from Cricket South Africa's meddling in the team selection for that match was still felt. The next World Cup was still four years away. Captain AB de Villiers missed the tour to be present for the birth of his first child. Yet from the ashes the Proteas found reason for optimism, as Kagiso Rabada took 6 for 16 - not to mention a hat-trick - on his ODI debut. The series, though, was lost 2-1.

As a new cycle begins now, South Africa are looking for a sense of renewal once more. The two-year lead-ups to the 2015 World Cup and 2017 Champions Trophy followed a relatively clinical pattern, in which the first year was dedicated to identifying a core squad, and the second to defining each player's role within it. This time around they have both a new coach in Ottis Gibson and a new captain in Faf du Plessis, but the formula remains the same.

"We're looking at 34 or 35 games between now and the 2019 World Cup and the idea between Faf, the selectors and me is to have a look at players who might be on the fringes," said Gibson. "We have to give players opportunities so that in a year's time we narrow that pool down.

"We also need to determine the type of players, bearing in mind the conditions in England, that we're going to need. They need opportunities for the next year so that we can make better judgements going forward. Then we finally need to narrow down to 15 or 16 players we feel can play at the World Cup. It's still a long way but that's the plan."

For the series against Bangladesh, fast bowler Dane Paterson and batsman Temba Bavuma have been included in the squad. Bavuma has not been given an opportunity since scoring a hundred on ODI debut against Ireland a year ago, while Paterson has emerged as a canny Twenty20 bowler. While they can both expect game time in the three-match series, others are waiting in the wings.

With Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock present the opening partnership looks to be sewn up, but Aiden Markram is making a strong play. His 255 runs in the Test series at an average of 85 was followed by his 82 in 68 balls as a South African Invitation XI beat Bangladesh in a 50-over practice match on Thursday. Given the manner in which the Amla-de Kock partnership stalled in that crucial Champions Trophy match against India in June, it would be foolish to rule Markram out given his talent and track record in the 50-over game. Allrounder Wiaan Mulder and seamer Beuran Hendricks are two other players from the warm-up clash who could get a look-in over the next year.

Gibson's remarks about the number of ODIs before the World Cup were made before the collapse of the Twenty20 Global League. CSA have since engaged with the Pakistan Cricket Board over the prospect of replacing the T20GL with a bilateral tour, so further ODIs could be added to the tally.

Six ODIs against India in the new year are scheduled to be followed by a long gap, before things get serious in the year before the World Cup. From October, South Africa are scheduled to play three ODIs against Zimbabwe (home), five against Australia (away), five against Pakistan (home) and then 10 against Sri Lanka (five home, five away). The Australia series will be dependent on whether the T20GL gets off the ground at the second attempt.

Where will all of this leave South Africa when the World Cup begins in England at the end of May 2019? They have planned meticulously in the past, and gone on winning streaks in the lead-up to tournaments that have made even the cynics believe that this time, surely, will be different. Few would bet against a similar pattern developing, but questions will persist over whether that pattern can have a happier ending.

Gibson has essentially been employed to make that happen. The introduction of a foreign coach who is not bound to a largely conservative cricket culture looks a good move, while du Plessis is a more proactive captain than his predecessors. Their task is to ensure that South Africa are not back here in two years' time, with this familiar feeling.